


A Little Inspiration (Is All I Need)

by Andromedas_Void



Category: Fall Out Boy, Mindless Self Indulgence, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, M/M, faun Frank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 17:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2237439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromedas_Void/pseuds/Andromedas_Void
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disgruntled by his recent slump, Gerard Way, one of New York’s most popular living artists, sets out to find something new to inspire his work. After purchasing a small, cozy cabin just inside the limits of the Pine Barrens, he meets a strange creature who he’s positive should not exist except in fairy tales or mythology.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Inspiration (Is All I Need)

**Author's Note:**

> Bandom Big Bang Artwork by truthismusic [here.](http://truthismusic.dreamwidth.org/3460.html)
> 
> Bandom Big Bang Mix by fisa-is-your-friend [here.](http://fisa-is-your-friend.dreamwidth.org/1723.html)
> 
> Non-BBB artwork
> 
> [Cute lil faun Frank](http://andromedas-tears.tumblr.com/post/74657615593) by [earbudmusic.](http://archiveofourown.org/users/earbudmusic)  
> [Faun Frank](http://andromedas-tears.tumblr.com/post/74750992077) by anonymous.  
> [Another cute lil faun Frank](http://ieroshock.tumblr.com/post/74759212052) by ieroshock. (tumblr)  
> [A third adorable faun Frank](http://andromedas-tears.tumblr.com/post/74835242400) by awwkward-owl. (tumblr)  
> [ Faun Frank in his daisy crown](http://andromedas-tears.tumblr.com/post/74950748347) by joanofmarks. (tumblr)  
> [Faun Frank blushing](http://andromedas-tears.tumblr.com/post/75297811520) by giveemhell-kid. (tumblr)  
> [Faun Frank](http://andromedas-tears.tumblr.com/post/75376326009) by anonymous.  
> [Initial idea for faun Frank](http://solai-tsukada.deviantart.com/art/Faun-Frank-430025715) by me.

“Maybe… a change of scenery?” Lindsey suggested, reclining back in her office chair. 

She was patient, but Gerard had a feeling that patience was wearing thin. He hadn’t brought anything even remotely decent to her in weeks and it had been nearly four months since he had brought something worth selling. 

He let out a sigh and shrugged. “Maybe.” 

It was true that he was finding no inspiration at his apartment. There was only so many times he could go to Central Park and sketch before it got redundant. Maybe a change of scenery was what he needed to kick start his imagination. Maybe something back in New Jersey, something in the country or even just close to the Pine Barrens. He could try to make something out of mythology and lore. Well, something to do with New Jersey lore, at least.

He hadn’t noticed Lindsey had started talking again until she asked him a question. “What?”

“I asked how the family was,” she repeated, arching an eyebrow. “Were you even listening to me?”

Gerard flushed and looked down to his lap, folding his hands over his thighs.

“Don’t worry, hun. You’ll get out of this slump and everything will be okay,” she said softly. She leaned forward, elbows on her desk and chin resting on the back of her hands. “I wouldn’t drop you just because of a bad spell. Even I had months where I didn’t create a single thing. I know it can take time.”

She was smiling warmly when Gerard looked back up. He tried to return it, ending up with a much weaker version, but she didn’t seem to mind. He had always known she was a great choice for his agent, mostly because she was an artist herself but also because she knew what to expect when an art block hit. Being only a year apart in age and having similar interests didn’t hurt, either.

~

“Now, you’re going to be safe and call us if anything goes wrong, right?” Donna asked, brushing invisible lint from Gerard’s jacket. “You know we’re here for you.”

“Ma, I’m just moving, not having some mid-life crisis. I need to find a new source of inspiration and hopefully this will help,” Gerard groaned. He dodged her as she tried to muss with his hair and ducked into the living room. “I’m not gonna be roughing it or anything. The cabin has power and water and everything a normal house in the city has just… more nature-y,” he said, waving his hand in a vague swirling motion.

He heard Mikey choking out a laugh from his spot on the couch. “Nature-y? Y’know that’s not a real word, right?” he smirked.

Gerard flipped him off with a scowl. “You know what I fuckin’ meant,” he said, earning a hard glare from Donna.

“Language,” she scolded, clucking her tongue. “This is still my house and I don’t approve of such... colorful words.”

“Sorry, Ma,” Gerard apologized with a shrug. He sat on the couch, accepting the coffee mug his dad brought in with a smile. “But, anyway. I’ll be fine,” he said and took a sip from the mug. “I’ve already bought the place and checked it out. It’s really nice.”

Donna pinched her lips, picking up her own mug. “I still wish you weren’t moving so far away,” she said softly.

“Now, Donna, he’s twenty eight and he’s been doing great so far at his apartment,” Don reasoned, looking to his wife. “And it's barely farther than he lives now.”

She huffed out a breath, knowing she was being over-protective. “You’re right. But you will make sure to call once a week, right?” she asked, waving a warning finger at Gerard.

“Yes, Ma. I’ll call you every Sunday,” he agreed and she smiled, leaning back into the couch. He took a sip from the mug, the coffee still too hot to gulp down. “Mikes, would you help me with the packing?” he asked, looking to his brother.

Mikey made a face, pursing his lips as the thought. “Yeah, sure,” he said finally, picking up his own mug.

~

Gerard loosely wrapped newspaper around the deep green plates, stacking them in the box on the counter.

“So, the new place has water?” Mikey asked from the living room.

“And power and it’s already turned on. I went up to check yesterday,” he answered, moving to the next plate. When did he get so many plates? He could have sworn he only had four. It was some matching set, which also came with bowls and mugs, his mom got him as a housewarming gift. He could hear his brother humming some song but couldn’t make out the beat. 

The plate wasn’t a match to his set. It was white with a blue motif printed, or painted maybe, on it, and most likely belonged to his mom. He set it back on the counter and grabbed up the first of the four mugs, wrapping it in the newsprint.

“I think I got one of Ma’s plates here. Can you can return it tonight?” he called out, hearing Mikey make a noise of agreement in between his humming.

~

When he turned the SUV up the dirt driveway, Gerard was excited. He kept leaning forward, trying to look around the bend of trees to see his new home. He knew he wouldn’t spot it just yet, the driveway was nearly half a mile long, but that never stopped him from trying. Even when he had first looked at the place with the estate agent, he had kept trying to peer around the trees.

The place was located a few miles inside the Pine Barrens, but still close enough to a town for his weekly shopping. His mother hadn’t wanted him to get something so far from her but she relented when she had seen the estate pictures.

The clearing finally came into view and he could make out the solid structure of the cabin, a wide grin on his face. He pulled up past the house, reversing and stopping a few yards from the front door, and cut the engine, climbing out.

He took in a deep breath, the sounds and smells forest filling his senses. He let the breath out and smiled before unlocking the front door.

Stepping inside felt like he was finally coming home. The main room was homey and open. All his furniture had been moved in the previous day, thanks to his dad and brother. The modern look of some pieces didn't fit into the theme of the cabin but he had been reluctant to replace them. The bookcase was still empty and the electronics had yet to be hooked up and plugged in, but everything was in its place and it made Gerard smile warmly.

~

Gerard let out a loud groan as he set the box down on the table and rubbed his back. It was the last one he had to bring inside and he was relieved, but he still needed to unpack.

With another groan, he started prying the box open, taking the plates out and placing them in the slotted cabinet near the sink. It took him over two hours to set up the main room, storing all his dishes and silverware in the right places and the books on the tall bookcase. He didn’t even bother breaking into the box with his art supplies, just shoved it in the corner of his bedroom.

He moved to the only bedroom and worked on filling his dresser and making the bed. His whole body ached from all the heavy lifting he’d done in the last few hours and he rolled his neck, rubbing his shoulders firmly. 

He took a shower when he finished with the bathroom, enjoying the steady spray of hot water on his back. Drying off and wrapping the towel around his waist, he entered his bedroom again and dug through the dresser, yanking out a pair of flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. He grabbed a pair of clean boxers and dressed before slipping into bed and falling asleep.

~

Gerard woke early, the sun only just starting to lighten the sky around the wood and creeping in through the tiny slit in the curtains. He climbed out of bed and yawned, stretching his arms over his head and behind his back, groaning when it popped loudly. He scratched his stomach and made his way to the kitchen, filling the kettle and placing it on the stove before stepping outside and lighting a cigarette.

The kettle whistled and Gerard walked back inside, stubbing the cigarette out in the glass ashtray on the coffee table.

After having his morning coffee and some of the leftovers his mom gave him, he headed out to the grocery store.

~

His life at the cabin was going great, with the small exception that he still wasn’t inspired by anything. 

Gerard had tried taking walks through the forest, looking at the trees and plant life and even the animals when he spotted them but nothing ever came to him. He had sketched a few things in the five weeks since he’d moved in, but he considered them average at best and doodles at worst.

He was sat outside, a half empty bottle of wine on the table and a sketchbook in his lap. The wine was making his head fuzzy and he couldn’t focus on his work. He was trying to do a rough sketch of the forest surrounding the cabin, but none of the lines were working. Everything looked completely off and he knew it wasn’t the wine’s fault.

He groaned, closing the book with a snap and tossing it to the table. The pencil rolled off the other side and fell to the ground. He didn’t bother to pick it up. Instead, he stood and headed back inside, leaving his supplies where they resided. It wasn’t one of his expensive books and, for the moment, he wasn’t too bothered if it ended up damaged from the morning dew. He’d try to remember to grab it before he went to sleep.

~

The alarm blared through the room, breaking the silence and making Gerard groan. He slapped the snooze button and curled up, yawning under the covers.

Pushing himself up in bed, he stretched and rubbed his eyes. He turned the alarm off, switching it back on a few seconds later, and stood.

After breakfast and a long shower, Gerard stepped outside to smoke a cigarette. He sat at the small table near the front door and lit the stick, inhaling. When he exhaled the smoke and looked to the table, he saw the wine bottle he left out from the night before. 

It was empty. The label and much of the bottle itself was smudged with mud. He picked it up, placing the cigarette between his lips as he looked the bottle over. He was sure it had been half full last night.

Setting the bottle back on the table, Gerard looked around for his sketchbook. It wasn’t on the table where he had tossed it and he knew he hadn’t brought it inside. He looked under the table, spotting it a few feet away on the ground.

He stared at it for a moment, confused, before standing and walking over.

The pencil was resting on top of it, the tip worn down and unusable. He picked them both up off the grass and opened the book, looking through to see how his sketches had fared in the morning dew.

He noticed some new doodles, ones he knew were not his own seeing as they were drawn over his sketches. “What the hell?” He flipped through more pages, seeing the book was nearly full of images that he never drew.

Most looked like they were drawn by a child. Just shapes and lines. The later pages were almost torn with how much force the mysterious artist, and Gerard used that word lightly, had used. It was most likely when the pencil’s tip had been worn down to nothing.

He took the book back to the table, dropping it on top and sitting in the chair to continue looking through. He hoped the culprit had left a calling card or maybe a signature.

There was nothing. No name or even any words written down.

Gerard stubbed out his cigarette with a weary sigh. _Probably some dumbass kids._ He stood from the chair, grabbing the bottle along with the book and pencil, and headed back inside.

He wasn’t even sure if he lived close enough to anyone for kids to just wander over in the middle of the night. As far as Gerard knew, his closest neighbor was well over ten miles away. And he didn’t hear anything during the night. He knew kids were loud, especially when they were trying to be quiet and sneaky, a lesson he learned as a pre-teen trying to sneak snacks from the kitchen and waking his mother at two in the morning.

He smiled at the memory, setting the ruined book on the counter and cleaning the wine bottle for recycling.

~

A muffled crash outside roused Gerard from his sleep. He frowned and looked to the clock, reading 2:19 am.

He heard the sound of scratching near the front door and jumped out of bed, throwing on the bedroom light. He rushed to the living room, flipping the lights on, and moved towards the front door, where the sound had been the loudest.

The room was silent. He grabbed the closest object to use as a weapon, an umbrella, and unlocked the door, slowly opening it and peeking through the crack.

It was far too dark to see anything. He turned the outside light on and opened the door wider, stepping out with the umbrella gripped tight in his hand. “H-hello?” he called, looking around.

There was no one around, not even a raccoon.

Gerard huffed out a breath and frowned. He looked around the front of the cabin, spotting the cause of the noise that awoke him.

One of the two chairs and the small patio table had been knocked over, laying in the dirt and grass. He righted them both, noting the dirt smears on top of the table.

Figuring it was just some animal, maybe a raccoon or a fox, he shook his head and walked back inside. Wiping his feet on the rug, he locked the door, placed the umbrella back in its spot, and turned the lights off, heading back to bed. He’d deal with whatever kind of animal it was in the morning.

~

 _”It’s probably just a raccoon or something,”_ Mikey said. He sounded bored and Gerard knew he was probably trying to watch TV or something. _”Or a bobcat. I think they’re pretty common down there.”_

“But-three times in one week?” Gerard whined. “And I haven’t been leaving food out or anything so if it is either, it would realize it’s not getting fed here.”

Mikey hummed and Gerard had a suspicion he wasn’t paying attention. _”What about that wine you left out?”_

“Well, yeah, but that was a week ago and…” Gerard paused, thinking back to when he found the empty bottle. “And it was set back up right, like a person had drank it or something. I don’t think raccoons are that smart,” he reasoned. “I still think it’s some kids trying to get a rise out of me.”

 _”Why would kids be tryin’ to get a rise out of you?”_ Mikey asked.

Gerard shrugged. “I don’t know. But something is fucking with my shit and I want it to stop. Twice now I’ve found the patio table on its side and this last time, half of my potted herbs were knocked from the outside window sill,” he complained. “ _And_ I found hand prints on my car, like someone was looking through the window and trying to open the door. They were muddy and smeared and I know _I_ didn’t make them.”

 _”Maybe it’s the Jersey Devil.”_ He knew Mikey was smirking and probably wiggling his fingers in an attempt to be creepy.

Gerard ignored him, huffing out a breath and thinking.

 _”Why don’t you try to find out who’s doing it then? Stay up and wait by the door until they, or it or whatever, shows up and then you can tell them to fuck off,”_ Mikey said.

Gerard felt like an idiot for not thinking of that solution himself. He heard Mikey snort out a laugh and he scowled, “Fuck you.”

 _”How did you not think of this before? Are you getting that old already?”_ he teased.

“I’ve been busy trying to get some art done,” Gerard stated, taking a gulp from his coffee mug. It had gone cold and he grimaced. He stood and took the mug over to the microwave, heating it up for a minute.

Mikey hummed over the phone. _”How’s that going, by the way?”_

“Badly,” Gerard admitted, watching the mug turn in the microwave. He heard Mikey hum apologetically as the microwave beeped. “I’m just not getting any inspiration at all. I’ve tried pretty much everything, even drawing my surroundings and nothing looks right.” He removed his mug from the microwave and blew on the steaming liquid, taking a quick sip and nodding to himself. “Maybe this move was a bad idea, but, I mean, I’ve bought the place outright so I’m not gonna just leave it.”

 _”It’s only been, like, a month since you moved out there,”_ Mikey said and Gerard sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against the counter. _”Give it time. Last time you were in a slump for nearly a year, remember?”_

“I’d rather not,” he groaned, drinking his coffee. “But, yeah. You’re right. I’ll give it time. So… how’s Pete and Alicia?”

Mikey hummed and Gerard heard him crunching on something before speaking. “They’re good. Pete flew to Chicago today, visiting his parents, but Alicia’s been trying to keep us occupied so we don’t miss him too much,” he said.

Gerard nodded to himself.

 _“He’ll be back in a few days but we already miss him. Oh-“_ he paused, _“that’s him callin’ now. Talk to ya later?”_

“Yeah, sure. Tell them both I said hi,” Gerard smiled.

 _“Sure thing,”_ Mikey said before there was a click and the dial tone filled Gerard’s ear. 

He ended the call and locked his phone, finishing his coffee and cleaning the mug. He was a little envious of his brother, but he was happy for him.

While Gerard’s last relationship only lasted a month and they never even said the ‘L’ word (it was more of a fling and Gerard preferred to not think about her if he could help it), Mikey had been lucky enough to find two people who loved him and he loved them both equally. He didn’t know how they did it without any major jealousy issues but they made it work.

Gerard wished he had that kind of confidence to find someone but, at the end of the day, he was fine being alone. At least, that's what he told himself. Most of his relationships fizzled out because they hadn’t wanted to share Gerard’s attention with his art, even if it was his main source of income.

~

Heeding his brother’s advice, Gerard had set up a small ‘trap’ for the animal or kids that had been coming around his home. He had placed a full bottle of wine on the table shortly before he would normally go to sleep.

Keeping the door just barely opened so he could watch, he sat by the wall wrapped up in a hoodie with a flashlight by his side.

He waited, sitting in the darkness and listening to the soft sounds of the wood through the crack in the door. He felt his eyes start to droop and he rolled his shoulders as he tried to stay awake.

He blinked rapidly when he felt himself nodding off, shaking his head. Movement through the gap in door the caught Gerard’s eye and he stiffened, grabbing up the flashlight.

The thing –animal?-- moved closer and Gerard slipped out of the house, trying his best to be silent. The animal was big, much bigger than what he expected, hunched over on all fours and creeping up towards the cabin.

Gerard watched from the shadows as it raised up, standing on two legs, and crept over. He fumbled with the flashlight, flipped it on, and shined it on the creature.

It froze, blinking quickly up at Gerard. It wasn’t a creature. It was a boy, or a young man, with dark hair and wide brown eyes and much older than he expected. His nose was unusual, wide and flat at the tip and dark underneath. Gerard figured it was just dirty since his hands and feet were covered in dirt. His eyes quickly darted to the table, eyeing up the bottle of wine, before focusing on Gerard again and licking his lips.

He moved fast, faster than Gerard was ready for, and grabbed the bottle, turning and dashing back towards the line of trees.

“Hey! Wait!” Gerard gasped, trying to keep the man in the light. It was then he spotted something highly unusual. Something that shouldn't have been there.

Horns. They were growing out of the man’s hair, dark grey and curling around the back of his head. He watched him duck through the trees and hide behind one no more than thirty feet away, just inside the ring of trees surrounding the cabin.

Gerard waited, the light focused on the tree the man –Creature? Demon? Figment of his imagination?-- had hid behind.

The creature peeked out, eyes still wide, before he ducked back behind the tree again.

It didn’t appear again and Gerard was too nervous to approach the tree in the dark, even with his flashlight in hand. He exhaled and shook his head slightly, confused by the creature. He waited another minute before stumbling back inside, locking the door behind him and leaning against it. He frowned, wondering if that had happened. 

 

He let out a long yawn, stretching his arms over his head as he walked into the bedroom. Tugging off his hoodie, he slipped under the covers and switched off the lamp.

Gerard rolled to his back and dropped his arm over his eyes as he tried to sleep. His mind was buzzing from the sighting and all he could see was the horns.

He didn’t know what the creature was or if he really did just imagined it. It had been a while since he had real human contact, other than his weekly grocery shopping. He never spoke to the cashiers, save for a polite ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ as he paid for his things.

Maybe his mind was telling him he was lonely and he really did imagine the creature. Or maybe there was something in the water. 

He sighed and moved his arm above his head. Sitting up in bed, he flipped the light back on and grabbed the small sketchbook and pencil from the nightstand. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well try to get something drawn. He did move to the cabin for inspiration after all and seeing (or imagining) the creature certainly inspired him.

~

Gerard slowly drifted back to consciousness, burrowing down under the covers for a few minutes before pushing himself up. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, yawning wide. His sketchbook had been kicked to the foot of the bed, the pencil nowhere to be seen.

With another yawn, he pushed the cover away and turned, getting out of bed. He picked up his phone, seeing that it was almost ten in the morning. Looking around the room, he spotted his hoodie draped over the foot board and pulled it on. He shuffled out to the kitchen, stepping on the missing pencil after a few feet and tossing it to the bed.

Coffee was the only thing on his mind as he stepped into the warm main room. He filled the kettle and placed it on the stove, turning the eye on medium and preparing the French press Lindsey had convinced him to buy.

He glanced up when he placed the coffee jar in its place. A bottle outside the window on the sill caught his attention. 

It was an empty wine bottle. The same brand as he had in his wine rack.

The night before rushed to the forefront of his mind and he gripped the counter. Leaving a bottle of wine on the table outside, waiting by the door, the boy with the horns curling around his head.

Gerard was so sure it had been a dream. He hurried to the door, unlocking it while he stepped into his shoes. He went outside and around the house to the kitchen window.

The bottle was sat on the sill, in between the small potted herbs. He looked to the ground below the window. There were footprints not much smaller than his own. 

He noticed dirt smearing the label when he picked the bottle up. Looking around the woods surrounding the house, he almost expected to see someone watching him. Maybe some teenagers playing a joke on him.

There was _something_ that caught his eye.

He gripped the neck of the bottle tightly, watching the person through the trees.

The person was crouched down, half hidden behind a wide tree. His hand, which was resting on the side of the tree, was spotted with dirt. Gerard could see the dull grey of a horn sticking out from underneath his dark brown hair.

“H-hello?” Gerard called out, tilting his head slightly.

The person’s eyes widened at the word, but he didn’t appear scared. In fact, to Gerard’s astonishment, he smiled. It was wide and bright and he used the tree to help himself stand before walking out from behind it.

Gerard looked around as the man took a step forward. Surely someone had to be pranking him and this guy was the bait.

When he stepped closer, stopping only a yard in front of Gerard, he could see his face as well as much of the top half of his bare chest and shoulders were covered in freckles. He was older than Gerard thought, maybe in his early twenties, and a few inches shorter than Gerard. He wore only a pair of torn brown pants that stopped just past his knees, stained with even more dirt than the man’s hands and feet.

The horns, now that Gerard could see them in the daylight, were clearly that of a ram or some kind of mountain goat. They were a dark grey, the color reminding him of a storm cloud, and slightly ribbed, by the look of it, curling tightly around his head.

“Hi,” the man –creature?—said cheerfully. His voice was nasally, like he had a cold, and much deeper than Gerard had expected. “I’m Frank. What’s your name? No one’s lived here since before I was born. That wine was delicious, I’ve never had any like it. Do you have any more? What are you doing out here? Hey, can I come in? I wanna see the inside,” he rambled quickly, moving closer until he was within arm’s reach.

“Uh…” He stared, wide eyed and open mouthed at the creature.

The creature moved closer, bouncing on his feet and waving his arms lightly. “Hey! Can’t you talk? Tell me your name, please?”

“Gerard,” he said dumbfounded, watching the creature, Frank’s, dirty hands. He held the bottle close to his chest, like it would protect him from whatever kind of joke was being played on him. “I, uh, I live here?” he squeaked, sounding like he was unsure. “I do have more wine and… I-I guess you can come in?”

Frank’s grin grew even wider, showing off his slightly crooked teeth, and his eyes seemed to glow brighter in the light. 

Gerard noticed they were brown with a dull green around his pupils. He gave him a quick smile back, much smaller and more nervous than Frank’s own, and took a step backwards, edging around the house and to the front door.

Frank followed him, still bouncing on the balls of his feet as he walked. He moved faster than Gerard, ducking around him and stopping at the open front door. 

He peered inside and Gerard was positive he was making a huge mistake by agreeing to let him inside. Before he could change his mind, Frank had ran through the door and Gerard heard him gasping in awe.

“Wow, neat!”

Gerard followed him inside, seeing Frank on all fours, looking under the sofa. He raised an eyebrow at the scene but Frank wasn’t breaking anything, he wasn’t even touching anything, so Gerard moved back to the stove, turning off the eye and taking the kettle just as it started to whistle. He poured the boiling water in cafetiere and let the coffee steep before pressing the plunger down and pouring it into his mug. He couldn’t hear Frank moving about and he wondered if he left suddenly.

“Frank?” he called, turning around to look for him.

“Yes?” Frank replied. 

Gerard jumped, hand over his chest. Frank was standing close, far too close for Gerard’s comfort. He backed up, ass hitting the counter top, and Frank took a step forward.

“Hey, can I have some wine?” he asked, blinking up at Gerard, oblivious to his discomfort. “It was really good. Pretty please?”

“Um, y-yeah. Okay.”

Frank grinned again, or he never really stopped grinning. It was very unnerving to Gerard. He took a step to the side, towards the wine rack and Frank watched him, following him with his eyes.

Gerard finally turned when he was a few feet away and walked to the rack, grabbing a bottle from the top. They were all the same brand, just something he liked the taste of and wasn't too expensive. He figured giving the guy a bottle wouldn’t hurt.

Turning back around, he saw Frank had walked closer, standing two feet away. He hadn’t even heard him move. _Maybe he’s a ghost,_ Gerard thought before shaking the thought away. _Ghosts don’t drink wine. Ghosts don’t drink or eat anything._ He held out the bottle and Frank grasped the neck.

“Thank you!” he chirped, taking the bottle and prying the cork from it.

Gerard watched with awe as he tugged the cork free with his fingers and took a heavy gulp straight from the bottle. “Um, y-you’re welcome,” he managed. He skirted around him carefully, trying to make sure the man didn’t notice, and picked up his steaming mug of coffee. He took a sip as Frank moved around the room again, bending over to look at the TV set.

He didn’t know what the man was. He couldn’t be human. He didn’t see a headband holding the horns on his head and his ears were pointed at the tip. _Like an elf,_ his brain quickly supplied. _That'd be cool._

“So, what are you?” he asked, immediately cringing and covering his eyes with his free hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” he said, wishing he could filter his mouth.

“I’m a faun,” Frank answered happily.

Gerard peeked through his fingers.

Frank hadn’t stopped smiling. He took another gulp from the wine bottle and wiped his mouth, leaving a smear of dirt on his chin. “Or that’s what mama calls me. She’s a nymph and papa is a satyr,” he continued. He moved towards the kitchen table, peering underneath it. “I live with mama and the rest of the wood nymphs but I see papa often. He lives with his family a few miles from mama.”

Gerard nodded, even though Frank couldn’t see it. 

He had moved to the bookcase sat between the bedroom and bathroom doors, pulling out books at random and drinking his wine. 

“I didn’t even know those things were real,” he said softly, still believing the whole thing to be some sort of joke. He set his mug on the counter and grabbed a skillet and placed it on the stove, turning the eye back on to medium.

“Hey! What’s this?” Frank called out.

He wasn’t in the room when Gerard turned. He frowned and moved towards the bedroom door, spotting Frank standing at the foot of the bed, a small black book in his hand.

“Oh! Pictures!” he grinned, stroking his dirty fingers over the pages. “Pretty.”

Gerard’s stomach lurched and he rushed forwards, snatching the book from Frank’s hands. “Please don’t touch them. They smear easily,” he said quickly, earning a small shrug from the faun. He looked down at the page it was open to, sighing dejectedly when he saw the light dirt stains over the sketches of Frank’s horns, which Gerard could see now were nowhere near accurate.

He heard Frank humming and springs groaning seconds later. “Soft.”

He looked up, closing the book and holding it to his chest. 

Frank was curled up in the center of his bed, dirt flaking off his feet and falling to the comforter. Gerard groaned and Frank jumped up again, running over to the chest in the corner and prying it open.

“What are you doing?” he asked, disapproval painted on his face. He watched as Frank shifted around the contents of the chest. It was just his spare bed sheets but it still left Gerard unnerved, especially since they were all clean and Frank’s hands were filthy.

“Lookin’,” Frank replied easily. He stood up, letting the chest fall closed and ran past Gerard, yanking open the top drawer to his dresser.

“Please stop going through my things,” he said weakly.

Frank stopped and looked over, eyes still just as wide and curious as they had been when he first saw him outside. “Okay,” he said, smiling over at Gerard. He rushed back out of the room and Gerard quickly followed after setting the book on his dresser and closing the drawer.

He saw Frank kneeling down in front of the stove, examining the pan on the eye. “It’s warm,” he said. “Is it wood fire?”

“Uh, no. It’s electric,” Gerard stated, not sure if Frank even knew what electricity was. The confusion on his face told Gerard he didn’t know.

“E-leck-trick,” he said slowly, almost like he thought saying the word would tell him what it meant.

Gerard moved to the fridge, keeping an eye on Frank to make sure he didn’t touch the stove. He grabbed out two eggs and the pack of bacon.

“Oh!” Frank said, jumping slightly and straightening up. The wine in the bottle sloshed around and Gerard saw it was still half full. “I have to go.”

Gerard was shocked by the suddenness of the announcement. He stared at Frank, who moved closer to him, hugging the wine bottle to his chest.

“Can I come back?” he asked, pouting out his bottom lip. “Please?”

Gerard nodded before he could stop himself and Frank’s face split into a grin again. 

He hurried to the front door, pulling it open and watching Gerard for a few seconds before he darted outside.

Gerard looked through the window, seeing Frank running between the trees, wine bottle still clutched to his chest.

He was convinced he had imagined the whole encounter, even with the dirty footprints covering the floor and his sheets and the light smears on his drawings. There was no way Frank was real. Fauns and satyrs and nymphs were things of mythology, not reality.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, telling himself he just didn’t get enough sleep and that’s all it was. He was tired and hungry and his mind had made-up the whole thing. He nodded to himself and turned back to the stove, dropping three slices of bacon into the pan.

They sizzled quickly. He pulled a bowl out from a cabinet and cracked the eggs, waiting for the meat to cook.

Taking another look out the window, all Gerard saw was the late morning sun filtering through the trees. He was sure the faun really was just a part of his imagination.

Gerard turned from the stove, after pouring the eggs into the pan, and walked to his bedroom. He picked up his sketchbook, a pencil and an eraser, taking them to the kitchen and setting them on the table.

He intended to draw the faun. He couldn’t take his mind off the creature. Maybe he was finally finding his inspiration and it lied in mythology.

Flipping the bacon and eggs in the pan, he let them cook for another minute before scooping them out and onto his plate.

~

His art wasn’t working. Although he could remember what his mind had made up, he couldn’t put the pieces together on paper. He ended up sketching each part separately. 

The faun’s brown and green, heavy lidded eyes, his wide smile and crooked teeth, the flatness of his nose, covered in freckles.

Gerard realized he couldn’t picture what his ears looked like, how extreme the point was, or how his hair had looked. He knew it curled around his face but he wasn’t sure how much it curled or even which way.

He eventually groaned, tossing the book to the coffee table, the pencil clattering over the heavy wood. He shifted on the couch, lying down and throwing his arms over his eyes. It was his imagination and yet he couldn’t come up with the rest of Frank’s features. They eluded him and it aggravated him to no end.

~

Gerard opened the front door and stepped outside. He yelped when he bumped into a solid object, hearing a squeal and a giggle as he clutched his chest and leaned against the door jamb. “Jesus, what the-“ He stopped abruptly, staring down at the young man’s smiling face. 

It couldn’t be him though. Gerard had imagined the faun. He was sure he had. 

“F-frank?”

“Hi!” Frank said brightly, leaning forward and closer to Gerard’s face. “I waited for you to come out. Is it too early?” he asked, worry showing on his face.

Gerard blinked and rubbed his eyes, looking at the faun again. “Um, no... i-it’s not too early. I uh, I… wait. You’ve been waiting?”

Frank nodded quickly, straightening back up and smiling again.

“How-” He paused and licked his lips, “How long have you been waiting?”

“Um, shortly after the sun rose?” he replied.

Gerard froze. “But, that was hours ago. You’ve been out here since then?”

Frank shook his head. “No, I’ve been waiting in the wood,” he said. “Can I have more wine?”

“Yeah, of course.” Gerard felt he was too quick to reply but Frank’s grin grew wider and he rushed past him, into the house.

Gerard followed him, spotting Frank crouching by the wine rack. “Can I pick?” he asked, looking up at Gerard. His eyes were still wide and hopeful but he kept his hands in his lap. He grinned when Gerard nodded, and grabbed the closest bottle, pulling it free from the rack.

“Why do you like wine so much? Do you ever drink, like, water or juice?” Gerard asked, watching the smaller man take a heavy gulp from the bottle.

Frank raised his eyebrows, smacking his lips obscenely. “It’s from papa’s side. Satyrs drink wine more than any other drink. And nymphs, like mama, also like wine, but not as much,” he answered, wandering around the main room like he did yesterday. “What’s juice?”

“It’s… a drink made from the liquid of a fruit or sometimes a vegetable,” Gerard explained, hoping he was making it simple enough. “Kinda like wine but not… alcoholic?” He wasn’t sure if Frank knew what the word ‘alcoholic’ meant.

“No,” he said, standing and holding his wine close. “I’ve had fruit but never a drink made from it before. Do you have some?”

Gerard thought to the contents of his fridge, looking towards the appliance. He remembered having the last of the orange juice with his breakfast. “No, I don’t think I have any.”

“Oh. Okay.”

When he looked back, he saw Frank had moved further into the room, poking around the DVD player. He watched as Frank pushed a button and let out a gasping squeak when the disc tray ejected itself.

“Wow. What is this?” he asked, touching the tray gently.

“It’s a DVD player. It plays movies,” he said and Frank stared at him over his shoulder, a look of utter confusion on his face. “It’s… hard to explain.”

Frank shrugged and poked at the tray again, jumping back when it slid back in its place. He putted around the room, touching anything he could, and leaving light brown smears wherever he went.

Gerard raised his hand to his face, startled when he saw the unlit cigarette still between his fingers. His original reason for stepping outside came back to him and he pulled his lighter from his pocket. He didn’t notice when Frank stopped to stare at him.

“Is that fire?” he asked when Gerard lit the cigarette.

“Yes? It’s a lighter,” he said, showing him the object. He pulled it away when Frank tried to grab it. “That’s probably not the best idea.” He took the cigarette from his lips when Frank pouted. “I’d rather not have my ass on a mythical creatures’ hit list if you got burned.”

Frank poked out his lip, holding his arms and the wine bottle to his chest. He continued to watch the lighter as Gerard slipped it into his pants pocket. “I wouldn’t burn myself,” he sulked. “I know what fire does.”

He wandered over to the bookcase, pulling books from their places and opening them. 

Gerard bit his lip, eyes finding his sketchbook on the coffee table. “Frank?” he asked, taking a drag from the cigarette.

“Yes?” 

He had to phrase this right so it didn’t come out creepy. “Can… would you let me, um, draw you?” He looked up just in time to see Frank moving closer to him, stopping just shy of his personal space.

“Yes!” He didn’t think his smile could get wider but it definitely seemed like it did. “Yes, yes, yes!” Frank sounded like Gerard had offered to get him the moon or the winning lottery numbers.

Gerard nodded, taken aback by his enthusiasm. “Um, okay. Just, uh, sit-sit here?” He motioned to the coffee table and Frank moved quickly.

He climbed on top of the table, crossing his legs and setting the bottle next to his thigh. He stared up at Gerard, who moved much slower, sitting on the couch and ashing his cigarette in the ashtray.

Frank watched him excitedly and it left Gerard mildly embarrassed. He’d never been watched with such focus before when he drew. He propped the book up on his knee and took in the faun’s features before working the lines onto the clean page. He glanced up occasionally, seeing Frank fidget in his spot.

One of the times he looked up, trying to memorize the details around Frank’s eyes, he saw Frank twisting his body as he looked around behind himself.

“Please sit still.” Gerard’s words were soft but Frank still snapped his head back to face him, sitting up straight and rigid.

It didn’t last.

He looked up again no more than five minutes later and Frank’s face was less than an inch from the book. Gerard jumped, pulling the book back so he didn’t hit Frank in the face.

Frank touched the top of the book, fingers curling over it gently as he pulled it back towards him and down. “Wow. That’s me!” Gerard could practically feel the excitement coming off him when he said it.

Gerard smiled, cheeks flushing lightly. He faltered when Frank moved from the table, sitting next to him on the sofa. He held his breath as Frank shifted closer, pressing his bare chest to Gerard’s arm and resting his chin over Gerard’s shoulder. 

“I wanna see you draw. Please?” he asked.

His breath hit Gerard’s cheek and he had to force himself to relax, nodding slowly. Carefully, he started to work details in. The curl of Frank’s hair, the small indent scar he’d seen between his eyebrows. Every detail he added made Frank gasp and hum and it made Gerard flush more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Frank smiling softly, eagerly watching Gerard’s hands move over the paper.

“How old are you?” Gerard asked, pencil lifting just off the paper. He didn’t know what made him ask but he was curious about Frank. Seeing him three times, not to mention so close, assured him that Frank was indeed real and not fictional or some delusion from being alone the last month.

Frank pinched his lips and Gerard thought he wasn’t going to answer but he hummed softly. “I-it’s been twenty four summers, I think.”

“So, you’re only a few years younger than me,” he mumbled.

Frank made a questioning noise, nosing at Gerard’s cheek when he looked up at him.

“Oh, um. I’m twenty eight,” he said, louder so the faun could hear him. “How… how can you be the child of a satyr and a nymph?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t inappropriate. “Like, wouldn’t that be the same as two different species or something?”

He felt Frank shrug against his side. “I dunno, but mama says papa is the satyr king or something. He’s really popular and stuff and she fell in love with him and then I was born, just like this.” He reached out when he finished, fingers stroking lightly over the side of the page.

Gerard expected dirt smears to be left in his fingers wake but the page remained clean. “What do you mean? You were born just like what?” he asked, turning his head to watching him.

“This,” Frank said, motioning to himself with the hand that had touched the paper.

“You mean, an adult? Like, you looked the same the day you were born as you do now?”

Frank hummed contently, nodding. He didn’t look away from the page even though Gerard had stopped drawing.

“Oh.” Gerard fell silent and started to move the pencil again. He felt Frank’s fingers touching his forearm, just the lightest touch that gave him goosebumps. “Would… would you sit for me again?” he asked. He didn’t look at Frank. He kept his eyes on the paper, waiting for a response.

Frank nodded after a beat and moved off the couch, climbing back on the table and crossing his legs. He took a large gulp from the bottle, setting it down softly and wiping his mouth.

Gerard scanned his face and hair, noticing the small flowers and leaves wedged in around his horns. They were yellow and he figured about the same size as a cherry blossom. One had a faded red center. The leaves were tiny, set along a thin green stem and sticking out at odd angles in his hair. He turned to a clean page and sketched the flowers. “What kind of flowers are they?”

“Huh? Oh, I don't know,” Frank said. “Mama put them in my hair.”

Gerard nodded before the room went silent again. He could hear Frank drinking from the bottle, the dull thud as he set it back on the table the only other sound in the room. 

By the time Gerard had looked back up, the bottle was empty and Frank was bouncing his knees, looking around the room.

He caught Gerard’s eye and grinned, stilling his legs. 

Gerard smiled back and sketched out the angle of Frank’s nose, adding a scattering of freckles to the lines. When he looked up again, Frank was standing, the bottle still on the table. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Um, I need to go,” Frank said, frowning softly.

“Really?” he asked and looked to his phone, checking the time. “Oh, shit. I’ve kept you for nearly two hours. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Frank shook his head as Gerard stood, leaving the book on the sofa. “It’s okay. I just don’t want mama to worry. Um, can I come back tomorrow?” His voice was soft and, if Gerard wasn’t mistaken, almost a little shy sounding.

“Yes, of course,” he said quickly. “You can come back whenever you want.”

Frank grinned at the words. He nodded his head shortly and hurried to the door, opening it and slipping out quietly. Gerard saw him smile once more before the door closed.

He sat back on the couch, letting out a breath.

Maybe Frank really wasn’t a delusion. Gerard may have been fairly creative, at least Lindsey had said so since he had sold more than his fair share of high priced paintings and prints, but even he had his limits on his imagination.

He shook himself mentally, pushing up from the couch. He headed into his bedroom and grabbed his laptop, taking it back out to the main room with him. _Might as well do some research._

It didn’t take him long to find information on nymphs and satyrs, reading that they were both fairly humanoid in appearance, but fauns looked nothing like Frank. 

He didn’t have the body of a goat from the waist down, Gerard was positive of that, and he didn’t even have a tail. Not that he could see, at least. Even the times when he had spotted Frank bent over and peering under his furniture, he had shown no signs of having a tail hidden under his pants.

Not that Gerard had been staring at his ass.

~

Glancing out the window for the umpteenth time since Mikey came over, Gerard sighed. He hadn’t seen Frank show up once that day and he was worried if maybe he was sick. Or had he gotten sick of Gerard? It was pouring rain out. Maybe Frank’s parents didn’t want him out in the rain. Maybe they found out he was sneaking off to see Gerard and they were putting a stop to it. Maybe…

“What are you looking for?” Mikey snapped, drawing his attention back to his brother. 

“Oh, uh, n-nothing,” he muttered. “Just thought someone would be coming by.”

Mikey raised an eyebrow at that statement, nudging Gerard to go on.

“It’s not a girlfriend,” he stated, looking to the window once more. “Or a boyfriend. Just… just a f-friend.”

“Uh huh. Well, it doesn’t look like they’re showing up, so stop looking out the fuckin’ window. It’s creeping me out.”

Gerard huffed out and slouched on the couch, trying to focus on the TV.

~

The bacon sizzled in the pan, crisping along the edges just as Gerard cracked two eggs into a bowl, pouring them in with it. He heard a soft knocking on the front door and turned his head towards it before walking over.

Opening the door revealed a very damp Frank smiling shyly up at him. “Frank? Are you-um, come in. Let me get you a towel,” he said, ushering the faun in.

“Sorry I didn’t come yesterday,” Frank started, standing near the door while Gerard walked to the linen closet, pulling out a large purple towel. “T-there was another thing, wheeled thing, and I saw a person and got scared.”

“Oh, that was my brother,” Gerard explained and unfolded the towel, wrapping it around Frank’s shoulders. He wasn’t shaking so Gerard figured he wasn’t going to get sick. “Dry yourself off. Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast,” he said, motioning to the stove.

Frank sniffed at the air and licked his lips. “What is it?” he asked, rubbing the towel over his head. “Smells nice.”

“Bacon and eggs,” he replied, walking over to the stove and plating up the food. “Um, you can have this plate. I don’t mind. I’ll make myself a second batch.”

Frank looked torn between hungry and worried as he padded over, accepting the plate of food. “But, this one is yours. You made it for you.”

Gerard waved a hand lightly, moving to the fridge and digging out two more slices of bacon and two eggs. “It’s alright. It doesn’t take long to make.” 

When he looked back over, Frank was sat on the floor, eating with his hands. He had egg yolk smeared over his mouth and dripping from his fingers as he tried to catch it. Gerard thought it was possibly the cutest, albeit messiest, way of eating he had ever seen, but Frank seemed to be enjoying the food.

He had only just poured the eggs into the pan when the plate was slid onto the counter, eggy fingers leaving smears over the granite. “Wash your hands, please,” he said, reaching to turn the sink tap on.

Frank stood there, watching the water for a moment before slipping his fingers underneath. He jerked them back quickly and winced. “Ow! Too hot.”

“Oh, sorry.” Gerard turned the handle, angling it towards the center of the sink and placed his fingers under the stream. “That should be better,” he smiled, drying his hands on the kitchen towel.

Frank was hesitant, but he carefully and slowly slipped his hands under the water. He rubbed them together after approving of the temperature and Gerard pointed to the soap dispenser, telling him to place his hand under the spout. He let Gerard squirt soap onto his fingers and rubbed them together like he said, smiling when his hands came back clean after rinsing. “Wow.”

Gerard thought it was cute how simple things left him in awe. He plated up his own breakfast, taking it and his mug of coffee over to the couch and sitting, Frank plopping down next to him. “So, what did you want to do today?” he asked, cutting his eggs up with a fork.

“Um… m-moo-vee?” Frank said, unsure if he was pronouncing it right. 

“A movie?” he asked, looking over and seeing Frank nod eagerly. “Alright, you can pick one if you want. They’re over on the bookcase, second shelf from the top.”

He had barely finished speaking before Frank was up and hurrying over to the bookcase. He was biting his lip, hands sliding across the DVD cases and pulling one out at random. “This!” he grinned, walking over and holding it out in front of him.

It was _The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe_ and Gerard smiled at the irony. “Okay.” He set his plate on the table and stood, taking the case from Frank’s fingers. He could hear Frank trailing closely behind him as he walked to the TV, switching it and the DVD player on. He popped open the case and removed the disc, setting it in the tray and starting up the movie.

When he turned to look at Frank, he was sat on the rug, only a few feet from the TV. 

Frank’s attention was set on the movie as it started playing. He wasn’t even fidgeting like normal, just watching with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open.

After finishing his food and washing the dishes, Gerard took the valuable opportunity to draw the faun while he was still.

He managed a handful of sketches, hearing both the movie and Frank’s gasps in the background, before a hand shook his knee.

“Gerard, the movie. It’s not doing anything,” Frank whined. “Make it do something.”

“What?” Gerard looked up to the TV, seeing the movie’s menu on screen. He hadn’t noticed it was over. “Oh, it’s over. I can put the next one on if you want?”

Frank’s eyes widened and he nodded. He crawled back to his original spot and Gerard changed the movie out, starting up _Prince Caspian._ He rubbed at Frank's hair as he passed on his way back to his spot.

“How did the people get in there?” Frank asked, shortly after the movie started.

“What do you mean? In the TV?” he asked, hearing Frank hum. “Well, it’s a movie. They’re not actually in the TV, they were filmed, like pictures but moving pictures with sound.”

“Like your drawings?”

Gerard looked up from his book, pencil stilling above the paper. “No, they’re not drawn. They’re… wait. I can show you.”

The excited noise Frank made went straight to Gerard’s chest, filling him with the faun’s delight.

He grabbed his laptop from the coffee table, booting it up and waiting. “It’ll take a minute,” he said, seeing Frank’s eager face as he crawled over. He started the video recorder and patted the floor next to him.

Frank shuffled over quickly, pressing up close to Gerard’s side and staring at the machine. “That’s me! And you!” he squealed, pointing at the image on the screen. “How did we get in there?” He didn't sound concerned but more excited.

“We’re not in the computer. It’s taking a video of us. See?” He stopped the recording and opened a video player, starting the recording.

Frank squealed in excitement, watching the two of them on the screen, saying the things they had already said. “That’s… wow! How did you do that?” he asked, voice filled with wonder as he turned his eyes back to Gerard.

“Um, well.” Gerard bit his lip, thinking. “Honestly, I don’t know how it’s done but really smart people made the technology to make images move,” he said lamely.

Frank stared up at him, still confused, but he didn’t say anything. He moved back to watch the movie, focusing all of his attention on the screen.

Gerard placed the laptop on the coffee table, closing the lid and picked up his book and pencil again. “Are… do things like centaurs exist?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the sketch in front of him.

“Papa says the do but I’ve never met one. They live far away,” was the answer he got.

He nodded and thought of more creatures to ask about. “What about mermaids? Er, merfolk?”

“I dunno. I’ve never heard of them. What do they look like?”

“They live in water and are half fish, half human. Or at least that’s what the lore says,” Gerard replied, working on the shape of Frank’s lips. They always seemed to be curled upwards at the corners, even when he wasn’t smiling.

Frank didn’t say anything and he looked up, seeing him watching the movie silently.

Gerard decided to stop asking questions and let him enjoy the film.

~

“No. You’re filthy, Frank,” Gerard stated, crossing his arms. “You’re not coming inside like that.”

Frank whined and poked out his bottom lip, quivering it. “I’m not that dirty,” he pouted.

Gerard quirked an eyebrow at him. “You’re covered in dried mud. I can’t see the skin of your legs there’s so much of it. You even have dirt all over your cheeks and neck,” he said, waving a hand in his direction. “I can’t even see your freckles.”

Frank huffed out a breath, looking longingly past Gerard and into the living room. “Fine. Then I’ll wash.”

He took hold of Gerard’s hand and tried to lead him away from the house. “Where are you taking me?”

“To the creek.”

“There’s a creek around here?” Gerard didn’t know that. He wondered how far it was.

Frank nodded, trying to pull him away from the front door. He’d only manage to get Gerard a few feet outside.

“Can I get my sketchbook first?” he asked. “I might as well do some work today.”

“Will you draw me again?” Frank asked. He turned to look at Gerard again, his face lit up with an eager smile.

Gerard nodded. He was always happy to draw Frank. When he sat still, that is. And that wasn’t too often, he’d learned. Frank dropped his hand, bouncing on his feet as Gerard walked inside. He picked up his book and the pencil bag sitting next to it and headed back outside where Frank was waiting.

After shutting the door behind him, Frank instantly took his hand again and started dragging him to the edge of the forest.

“How far is the creek?”

“Not too far,” Frank replied, falling in step with Gerard. 

He could feel the graininess of the dirt on Frank’s palms but he resisted pulling his hand away to wipe clean.

“About a mile and a half. Maybe two.”

Gerard nodded.

Frank was silent for most of the walk, smiling softly to himself. He’d squeeze Gerard’s hands gently every few minutes and, Gerard wasn’t sure why, it left a calming feeling in his chest. Warm and fuzzy and friendly; he didn’t want the feeling to ever leave him.

He watched as the woods grew thicker around them, the light barely filtering through the foliage, but it wasn’t dark. Gerard thought it felt like the trees were trying to hug them, comfort them as they walked deeper.

It wasn’t long before he could spot a clearing through the trees, the light blinding and warm on his skin as they stepped into it.

Frank released his hand, Gerard’s palm feeling cold for a few seconds, and walked in front of him, grinning wide and holding his arms out. “Told you it wasn’t far.”

“Wow.” It was all Gerard could think to say. 

The creek was about ten foot wide, the water crystal clear with large slabs of rock lining the bottom. The clearing was wide and knee high boulders were scattered about. He looked up, seeing the bright, pale blue sky and a ring of trees surrounding them.

“Wow. It’s beautiful,” he said, looking back to Frank.

He was stepping into the water, pants still on. Gerard saw him dunk his head under for a few seconds before coming back up for air, rubbing at his face. “It’s my favorite place to relax. Or was,” he smiled, scrubbing at his dripping hair with his nails.

“Was?” Gerard asked, frowning. He couldn’t think of a better place than this to relax at. It was so peaceful and inviting.

Frank hummed, slipping under the water again. “I like your place more now,” he said when he came back up.

Gerard bit his lip, not sure how to interpret the statement. He nodded at any rate and sat on the soft grass, leaning against a tree. He placed the pencil case next to his leg and unzipped it, grabbing a pencil and soft eraser before opening the book. Frank was scrubbing at his skin when he looked up.

It was the perfect thing to draw. He liked drawing Frank when he wasn’t posing.

The flowers he had had in his hair, light pink that day, were gone; washed away when he had first gone under the water. He seemed focused on his cleaning, the mud washing away easily, and Gerard tried to capture that look of determination on his face.

He had managed to get a few quick sketches of the look before Frank had sighed happily and he looked up, seeing the faun leaning out of the creek. 

His arms were out in front of him, lying on the grass, and he was watching Gerard quietly, splashing his feet lightly behind him.

Gerard smiled at him, getting a wide, lazy grin in return. He turned to a clean page and started to draw Frank’s pose; the looseness of his shoulders, the soft smile on his face, the little crinkles around his eyes. He was so focused on the picture, he was unaware Frank had climbed out of the water until he was pressed up to his side.

Frank was still soaking wet and the water quickly seeped into Gerard’s own clothing, chilling him almost instantly. He rested his chin over Gerard’s shoulder, his hair dripping and curling around his face.

Gerard froze, the pencil in his hand shaking. He swallowed thickly, trying to calm his nerves. Frank was humming softly and he had to remind himself that Frank was just a cuddly person, or creature, and he liked being close to Gerard. 

He had said he liked the feel of his body heat. It was comforting to him, reminding him of when he was still young and scared of the wood and his mother would hold him close.

With that in mind, Gerard took a slow breath and started drawing again. He smiled when Frank tilted his head to the side, lying it against Gerard’s.

“I like your drawings,” Frank said softly. “They’re pretty.”

“Thank you.”

“And I like it when you draw me. You make me look very pretty.”

Gerard didn’t know what to say to that. He just drew Frank as he saw him. “Um… you’re welcome?”

Frank hummed and shifted, pressing closer to his side. “Do you like me?”

The question caught him off guard. “O-of course I like you,” Gerard spluttered, looking down at the faun. He could see the flatness of his nose and eyelashes fluttering softly as he blinked but he didn’t look up.

“I like you, too.”

~

 _”So, how goes the art?”_ Mikey asked, voice breaking in the middle.

The internet at the cabin could be spotty during the evening but Gerard was glad to have it, not only for talking to his family but for research purposes.

“Great, actually. I think my block has mostly gone,” Gerard replied and took a bite from his pizza. “Mm, I even sent a few new prints to Lindsey and she loved ‘em.”

He saw Mikey nodded, his eyes focused on something past the computer. 

“You’re not even paying attention, are you?”

 _”No, I am. Really,”_ he said, eyes moving to the camera to prove his statement. _”So, what gave you your inspiration? Or is it just nothing in general?”_

Mikey, and even his mom, had always liked to know what Gerard was working on. They had been his biggest supporters since he applied at SVA. His dad supported his art too, just not to the same extent.

“Uh, mythology. Like, things like merfolk and satyrs. Things like that. Or I guess it’s really just fantasy in general?” he said, taking another bite of his dinner.

 _”Cool.”_ Mikey fell silent and Gerard saw him looking over the camera again.

“Did you wanna see some sketches?” he asked, knowing it would get his attention.

 _”Hell yeah,”_ he said, sitting up on the sofa.

Gerard shook his head and picked up the sketch book from the table. He opened it to a page near the middle, one that featured Frank’s grinning face, and turned it to the screen, angling so his brother could see it.

 _”Cute,”_ he said and Gerard pulled the book back, turning to another page, one that featured what he imagined a nymph to look like. Flowers in her long curly hair and a fine, sleek dress on her slender frame. _”So what is it? A satyr?”_

“No, that one is a-a kind of a half breed I thought up. A mix of a satyr and a nymph.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. Frank was a mix of the two. He turned the book again, showing him the next picture. “This one is a nymph.”

~

The sun was high in the sky, visible over the ring of trees that surrounded the cabin, and Gerard was sat on the ground, his back to a tree, while Frank sat a few feet away on a log. He had all of his concentration on the flowers he was weaving into a fairly large ring.

Gerard smiled at him, adding a few lines around his mouth in the sketch.

He hadn’t told Gerard what he was doing, he had just started it suddenly. Picking flowers from around the log, mostly little white things that Gerard thought were wild daisies, and braiding the stems together. There were a few flowers in his hair, tiny white things that Gerard knew usually adorned bridal bouquets but their name escaped him. His hands were relatively clean that day, even though his feet were just as covered in dirt and dried mud as they normally were.

Looking over, Gerard saw the ring of daisies in his hand was smaller but a glance to Frank’s hair showed he had made a flower crown and was currently wearing it. It was set between his horns, one side higher than the other and he smiled fondly at him.

He turned to a new page and started working on a drawing of Frank in the daisy crown. 

Something light was dropped onto his hair as he worked and Gerard looked up, seeing Frank kneeling next to him. He smiled when he realized Frank had put the second flower crown on his head. He got that fuzzy, warm feeling in his chest again, stronger this time.

Frank smiled down at him, hands sliding down to cup his cheeks. He moved quickly, leaning down and pecking Gerard on the lips before he pulled back, smiling softly and curling up into Gerard’s side.

Gerard mentally freaked out. The warm feeling in his chest grew tremendously and his heart sped up. He licked his bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth before letting out a slow breath.

 _He’s just friendly,_ he told himself, shaking himself both mentally and physically.

Frank nudged his arm with a low whine. “Draw. Please.”

And draw is what Gerard did. He didn’t focus on the kiss at all, pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he re-created Frank’s image onto he paper.

“Will you teach me one day?” Frank asked. He rubbed his cheek into Gerard’s shoulder and pulled his knees to his chest.

“If you want me to.”

Frank hummed, nodding his head. “Yes, please.”

“Alright then,” Gerard chuckled. “It’ll have to wait a little while. I need to finish some pieces so I can make money.”

Frank nodded again, leaning into him more.

~

A knock came at the door and Gerard looked up from computer. He set it on the coffee table and stood, walking to the door and opening it. “Frank? Y-you didn’t show up this morning, I thought something had happened.”

Frank bit his lip, shifting on his feet. “I had to talk to mama and papa today… before I came. Will you come with me?” he asked, peering up at him.

“Come with you where?”

“To meet mama and papa.”

Gerard tensed slightly. “You-you want me to meet your parents?”

Frank nodded, folding his hands together and smiling softly. He looked anxious and eager, waiting for a reply.

“O-okay,” Gerard said, rubbing his arm. “Lemme just turn my computer off. I’ll only be a minute.” He turned, leaving the door open, and moved back to the couch. After bookmarking and closing the window he had open, he shut the laptop down and closed the lid. 

Frank was waiting just outside the door, a bright smile on his face and all of his previous nervousness gone, when he turned back around.

Gerard slipped his shoes on and walked out, Frank taking a few steps back to give him room as he shut the door behind him. He offered his hand, knowing Frank would take it regardless, and smiled when he gripped it tight, pulling him towards the woods. “How far is it?” he asked after a minute.

“Um, about an hour?” Frank said, sounding unsure. He looked over at Gerard, a small, apologetic smile on his lips.

“Wait, you walk an hour everyday just to visit me?” Gerard asked, stunned. “And then another hour home?”

Frank nodded. “I’m used to walking a lot so it’s not really much for me,” he explained. “And I like spending time with you.”

“I like spending time with you, too, Frank,” Gerard said, giving his hand a small squeeze. He liked it when the faun was happy, loved seeing the way his eyes half closed when he gave Gerard a bright smile, and the little flowers he always had in his hair. He even loved the way he was still curious about practically everything in Gerard’s home.

They walked in silence for most of the journey, Frank making the occasional noise or humming lightly. He squeezed Gerard’s hand often, smiling every time Gerard squeezed back.

Gerard noticed Frank’s body start the shake slightly the longer they walked and he wondered if something was wrong. He hoped he wasn’t ill.

It was when Gerard saw the pure excitement in Frank’s eyes that he knew he was shaking with anticipation, but anticipation for what, he didn’t know. They were just meeting Frank’s parents, it was a normal thing friends do. At least, in the human world it was normal. He wondered if meeting one’s parents had some other meaning in the mythological world.

They had reached a wide clearing after what Gerard figured was around an hour. Inside were around a dozen women, all with a faint green glow around them and flowers dotting their hair. Two of the women had a small bird on their shoulders and another had a few rabbits near her feet, petting them softly.

There was a man, tall and muscular with a fair amount of facial hair covering his square jaw. He had horns similar to Frank’s own but larger and much more pronounced. He stood behind a woman with long dark hair, small purple flowers weaving through it, and Frank’s heavy lidded eyes. She wasn’t slim as Gerard had imagined a nymph to be, but quite curvy with slightly wide shoulders.

When his eyes glanced over to the rest of the women, taking their features in, he noticed they were all different. Some had hair that reached their waist, straight and sleek or curly and thick, others had hair that barely reached their ears. He couldn’t tell how tall any of them were, they were all sat on the ground or the large boulders that were strewn about, but most looked to be around Frank’s height or taller. Their skin tones also varied greatly, something he didn't expect, ranging from a tawny olive to a deep brown.

He shook himself out of his thoughts when Frank spoke, gripping his arm lightly.

“This is mama and papa,” he said, looking up at Gerard, one arm extended forward and motioning to the nymph with the man ( _satyr,_ the voice in his head corrected) standing behind her.

He gave them a small, uncertain nod and a short wave and Frank continued.

“Mama, papa, this is Gerard. I’m in love with him,” he stated, grinning just as brightly as always.

Gerard was thrown off by the statement. He looked to Frank, eyes wide and questioning, and then to Frank’s parents, seeing their soft smiles. He felt light headed, the glow from the nymphs messing with his head. He heard Frank speaking again, the sound far away, like they were at opposite ends of a tunnel.

“Can I live with him forever?”

He didn’t hear a reply. His vision closed in on him, bringing blackness to everything and his body felt like it was rapidly being jerked back and forth repeatedly.

Gerard came to what seemed like a second later, something hard and flat under his back and a heavy weight on his stomach. He could feel something touching his face and neck and hair and chest, moving quickly from each spot only to go back again shortly after.

“Is he dead?!” 

He heard Frank’s frantic voice getting closer and he slowly blinked his eyes open. He could see the sky, clear and bright, through the large ring of trees above, and he knew he was on the ground. He didn’t remember lying down.

“No, Frank,” a female voice said. It was soft and soothing and Gerard started to push himself up onto his elbows, a hand still gripping his shirt at the collar. “Look.”

Gerard watched as Frank whipped his head around, staring at his with wide and scared eyes, before he surged forward, catching Gerard completely off guard.

He wrapped his arms around Gerard’s neck and kissed him hard on the mouth.

Gerard didn’t react until the fourth kiss, carefully placing a hand high on Frank’s back and kissing lightly.

“Don’t you have something to ask Gerard?” the female voice, Gerard saw it belonged to Frank’s mother, asked and Frank pulled back grinning shyly and nodding.

“I love you. Can I live with you forever?” Frank asked quickly. He kept his arms around Gerard’s neck, playing with his hair.

“I-um… this… is really sudden?” he stammered, looking between Frank and his parents. “I-I mean, we only just met, like, t-two weeks ago.” Gerard thought shell shocked was an understatement to how he felt.

Frank’s smile never dropped or wavered. “I know, but I also know you’re the one for me,” he said and Gerard sat up straighter. 

He was exceedingly aware that Frank was sitting on his lap in front of his parents.

“I told mama about what I was feeling and she said it’s just like when she knew papa was right for her,” he explained.

Gerard was still confused and he looked to Frank’s parents, hoping they would explain better. They merely nodded and he sucked in a breath. “How… how can you tell?” he asked Frank.

“It’s instinct,” he replied. “I felt it a few days ago and told mama and she said it was my instincts telling me you’re the one for me. I gave you the crown to show my love.”

Gerard had to think back to that day, remember the look in Frank’s eyes every time he glanced over at him, the soft smile that seemed much calmer than he was used to, the way he had curled up into his side after he had kissed him. He then remembered the day before that, when they had gone to the creek and Frank gave him those lazy smiles. He felt like an idiot for not realizing when Frank’s smiles changed from excited and friendly to happy and full of love.

“Do you love me?” Frank asked, knocking Gerard out of his thoughts.

“I-I don’t know?” he said, frowning. He knew he couldn’t say ‘yes’ even if it would make Frank happy. He never wanted to lie to the faun. “I mean, I do like you. I really like you, but… it’s too soon for me to know if-if its… love.”

Frank’s face fell. It looked like his heart was shattering and Gerard had been the one to bring down the sledgehammer.

He had started to panic when Frank’s mother spoke again, her voice calm and soothing and, when Frank looked over his shoulder to her, he was on the verge of tears.

“Frank, you know humans can take longer to fall in love,” she said softly and Frank sniffled. “We told you not but two days ago that it may take time for him to feel the same as you.”

Frank nodded, looking back to Gerard and smiled a little. 

He still looked like his heart was broken and Gerard rubbed his hand over Frank’s hip, giving him a smile of his own. “I would love for you to live with me, though,” he said. 

The words were barely out of his mouth when Frank grinned and lunged forward, closing the gap between them and kissing Gerard again. Gerard saw it coming that time and kissed him back, hugging him around his waist. He felt more than a little uncomfortable kissing Frank in front of his family and he carefully pulled back, smiling at Frank to show he wasn't angry with him.

“Do, uh, do you need to bring anything with you?” he asked. He wasn't sure if the faun even had belongings and, if he did, what kind they would be.

Frank shook his head quickly, leaning back in to kiss him before resting his head on Gerard's shoulder, sighing happily.

“Oh, um, o-kay.” He looked up to Frank's parents and the rest of the nymphs, all of which were smiling softly.

“Make sure you visit us,” his mother said and Frank's head shot up. 

He clambered off Gerard's lap and walked over to her, letting Gerard take the opportunity to stand and brush the dirt and grass from his clothing. “I will! Yes!” he said, nodding and hugging his mother.

Gerard watched as he moved to hug his father next, followed by each nymph individually before making his way back over to Gerard and grabbing his hand.

“Be safe,” his father said and the nymphs gave a chorus of agreement.

Frank grinned and waved to them all before tugging Gerard out of the clearing and back into the woods, towards his cabin.

~

Gerard lay in bed, watching as Frank snored softly, chest raising lightly with his breathing. He thought back to the previous four months, from when Frank had first moved in with him. 

It all seemed to fly by to him, the days blending into each other. He had even told his family he had a boyfriend, even if it was only half true. Frank and he did kiss, and often, but Gerard had still never used the word 'love' yet. He felt something for Frank, but he couldn't place the feeling yet and didn't want to mess up and say it if it wasn't love. 

His family had met Frank, after Gerard had explicitly told them he was not normal in the sense that he was not human. That got some raised eyebrows, mostly from Mikey, and he had to correct himself. They didn't know what to make of Gerard telling them his boyfriend is a mythical creature and it was only after Frank had agreed to meeting them, that they came to Gerard's. It had gone smoothly enough. His mother cooed over Frank's freckled face and long, curling hair and his father, while still confused on how Frank could be real, accepted him easily. Mikey mostly joked around with Gerard, saying how he 'had to be difficult and choose a mythical creature for a boyfriend instead of a human like a normal person'.

Frank had been ecstatic after they left, saying how he wanted to see them again. Gerard counted it as a win.

There were some difficulties living with Frank. 

Gerard couldn't take him shopping, the horns growing out of his head would cause a riot and he didn't think a hat would cover them well enough. They were pretty thick. He had bought Frank clothes of his own, even though he flat out refused to wear socks and shoes when Gerard mentioned buying him a pair. He wore the pants and shorts he bought, but the shirts he only put on when he was cold. Even then, he usually preferred to just wrap a blanket around his shoulders and wander around the house.

He pushed the hair back off Frank's forehead, watching his eyebrows furrow before he opened his eyes, squinting at him in the low morning light.

“Too early,” he whined, closing his eyes again and curling up to Gerard's chest, nuzzling his head under Gerard's jaw.

Gerard smiled at the action, wrapping his arms loosely around Frank's shoulders, and kissed the top of his head. “I love you.”

He didn't know what made him say it but it felt right. Frank pulled his head free and stared up at him, eyes wide and awake after hearing the words. “You do?” he asked, eager but still wary. It was only when Gerard nodded that he smiled brightly and kissed him, mumbling “I love you, too,” against his lips.

Gerard returned the kiss, pulling Frank closer and sighing when he moved and curled back up under his chin.


End file.
